After My Cross-dressing Cover Was Blown, the Movie Star Became My Accomplice - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

◎ Do I still have a chance to apologize? ◎

Inside B City’s Capital Airport, various flight statuses scrolled across giant electronic screens. Whenever information for a certain flight appeared, fans in the waiting hall would grow incredibly excited. Amidst the crowd, one person was anxiously tapping on his phone, muttering incessantly under his breath.

“See the message, you have to see the message… Don’t come out, don’t come out!”

The chat box on the phone screen showed only his own frantic messages; the other party hadn’t given a single response. From morning until now, there hadn’t been a single reply.

On the other side, inside an airplane, Mu Yao was staring blankly at the clouds and blue sky outside the window. His thoughts uncontrollably drifted back to the events of that morning.

“Mu Yao, you… what exactly are you… You’re a man?!”

Cheng Zeyì’s look of disbelief and the tremble in his voice still echoed in his ears. It was a rare moment of loss of composure for Cheng Zeyì, and a precious piece of footage for the production crew. Yet, as the culprit behind that loss of composure, Mu Yao felt little pride; instead, he felt a heavy weight of guilt.

“Heh, didn’t expect that, did you, Film Emperor Cheng? Consider this the production crew’s surprise!”

Mu Yao had just been about to explain when Bi Tu interrupted, pointing at the distant cameras.

“The production crew? So that’s how it is. I understand.”

Bi Tu’s interjection allowed Cheng Zeyì to regain his senses. He showed an expression of realization and quickly reverted to the gentle, confident, and powerfully charismatic Film Emperor, maintaining a perfect state under the lens.

When the group walked out of the inn together, Cheng Zeyì finally looked at Mu Yao. He was still smiling, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

If I miss the chance to explain now, I’ll never have another chance. No, it can’t go on like this. I must find an opportunity to apologize. Even if we can’t be friends, we can’t let this misunderstanding persist.

Mu Yao made a silent vow. He looked down at the backpack by his feet, which contained the task rewards given to him by the crew.

The gifts weren’t particularly rare; most were things one could buy at the village celebration.

Deceiving Cheng Zeyì for a pile of trinkets… Heh, I deserve this. I shouldn’t have been curious about what ‘goodies’ the crew would hand out.

While sighing internally, Mu Yao cautiously stole a glance at Cheng Zeyì, who was sitting in front of him. The airplane seat blocked most of the view, leaving him only able to see a tiny bit of the man’s back. He couldn’t see a single trace of Cheng Zeyì’s expression.

In truth, now was a good time to explain. The filming had concluded the moment they boarded the plane. After several days of travel, the guests were physically and mentally exhausted; no one would interrupt the explanation like they did in the morning.

It was clearly a good opportunity, but Mu Yao didn’t dare disturb Cheng Zeyì. He was afraid of seeing those joyless eyes once again.

Forget it. He must still be fuming. I’ll wait until his anger cools down before explaining.

The fear in his heart made him unwilling and afraid to explain at this moment. He could only choose to play the ostrich for now, avoiding Cheng Zeyì’s cold gaze.

Heh, facing Cheng Zeyì is harder than facing the Rakshasa. If the person in front of me were the Rakshasa, I would have charged over long ago, right? But then again, the Rakshasa couldn’t be fooled by me, nor would he be as good to me as Cheng Zeyì was.

At this end of the cabin, the air between Mu Yao and Cheng Zeyì was stifling. On the other side, Qu Fu shook her head helplessly at the two, who were completely devoid of interaction. Kong Yanfei scratched her head, still unable to fathom why the two were throwing a tantrum.

Bi Tu smiled silently. Of course, his smile remained playful; to him, this was a great show, enough to keep him laughing for a long time.

After a few hours of flight, the plane finally landed. The group disembarked in an orderly fashion.

The production staff, carrying their equipment, bid them all farewell. The guests had officially and perfectly finished their work. After collecting their luggage, they disbanded on the spot to head to their respective homes.

Bi Tu was the first to leave through the VIP channel, followed by Cheng Zeyì. Qu Fu and Kong Yanfei, holding hands, also planned to leave via the VIP exit.

“Mu Yao, do you want to come with us through the VIP channel? I said I’d treat you to a meal; why don’t we go eat together?”

Qu Fu turned back to ask Mu Yao, still holding Kong Yanfei’s hand.

“Yeah! Brother Mu Yao, come with us!”

Kong Yanfei’s eyes lit up. She also wanted to thank Mu Yao for his company in the mine; she had received a lot of care from this handsome Brother Mu Yao.

“I’m sorry, Brother He should have arrived already. I need to go find him.”

Mu Yao shook his head, declining their invitation. Every time he returned from an outside shoot, his manager, He Ji, would be waiting at the airport. He always left through the regular exit; his fame wasn’t great enough to necessitate using the VIP channel anyway.

“Your manager really cares about you, but that company… Mu Yao, Yimeng’s reputation isn’t good. If you run into trouble later, you can come find me. I’ll give you an internal referral to my company.”

Qu Fu didn’t force the invitation. She smiled, but then suddenly remembered that Mu Yao’s company had a poor reputation in the industry. Thinking that Mu Yao had a good look and a good personality, she didn’t mind giving him a hand.

“Thank you, Sister Qu. I’ll consider it.”

Mu Yao knew Qu Fu was just mentioning it in passing. He nodded politely but didn’t immediately agree to the proposal.

After parting ways with the two, Mu Yao walked out alone with his luggage. As he walked, he took out his phone to turn it on.

To ensure flight safety, even if there was a flight mode, he always chose to power down. He felt it was the most secure way.

As he reached the exit of the terminal, his phone had just finished booting up. Mu Yao was about to call He Ji when a wave of piercing screams suddenly erupted in his ears.

“Ah!! He’s out! It’s Mu Yao!”

“Heavens, is it just Mu Yao? Did everyone else leave already?”

“Just Mu Yao is fine too! He’s so good-looking!!”

“Quick, take pictures! Getting a shot of Mu Yao is a win!”

Mu Yao stared at the scene in shock. The regular exit was swarming with people—men and women alike. They were screaming and cheering, holding up phones or cameras. Cold lenses were pointed at him one after another. He could hear the clicks of shutters and the screams mixed with shouts of his name, constantly stimulating his eardrums.

What… what is going on?

Mu Yao had never seen such a formation—or rather, he hadn’t seen it in a very, very long time. Back when he first participated in the talent scout show, he had seen similar scenes, but back then, the crew had organized everything perfectly. Unlike this time, where he was unprepared and had no idea how to respond.

People were still surging toward the exit, making it impossible for regular passengers to leave. Mu Yao didn’t know whether it was better to keep walking out or to retreat.

“Xiao Yao! Back up, back up, get back inside! I’ve found people, I’ve used my connections!”

Amidst the cacophony, He Ji squeezed through looking rather disheveled. Just as the crowd was about to press up against Mu Yao, he finally broke through the perimeter with airport security and quickly pushed Mu Yao back into the passage.

Seeing the passage doors close and the airport staff quickly guiding regular passengers to another exit, Mu Yao finally came to his senses.

“Brother… Brother He, what’s going on? I just heard the people outside calling my name.”

“Sigh, some of those people are proxy-shooters, and some are likely your new fans. You definitely haven’t checked Weibo lately. Let me give you a quick rundown. Remember when I told you your drag look went viral?”

“Back then, you also had that interaction and hug with Film Emperor Cheng on the livestream. Some fans went to search for your data; some like your face, some like your dance videos, and some love shipping the CP (couple) of you and Film Emperor Cheng. Anyway, due to multiple factors, a lot of people have seen and liked you. Your follower count is almost at a million!”

He Ji wiped the sweat from his forehead and began looking down at his disarrayed shirt.

“A million followers? Just because of my drag look and the interaction with Cheng Zeyì? How can that be?”

Mu Yao was in disbelief. His brow was furrowed, his eyes full of shock.

“I find it incredible too, but that’s not important. What’s important is that you’re famous now. More people will see you, your job opportunities will increase, and your income will grow. This way, you’ll have more power to choose.”

He Ji straightened himself out, reverting to his usual capable manager persona. He smiled and patted Mu Yao’s shoulder, expressing his anticipation and encouragement for the future.

“How is that not important? This is riding on heat—riding on Cheng Zeyì’s heat. I… I don’t want this.”

Mu Yao didn’t feel a shred of joy at being popular. His heart was filled only with shock and worry, as well as deep self-reproach and guilt.

He felt the current situation was bad—very bad!

Not only had he deceived Cheng Zeyì by wearing a dress, but now he was gaining traffic and attention because of it. He could only imagine how displeased Cheng Zeyì must be; he might even find it disgusting!

How did things turn out like this? He must be thoroughly disgusted by now. Do I still have a chance to apologize? Is it impossible for me to ever be his friend?

Mu Yao thought dejectedly. He could no longer hear anything He Ji was saying. He only felt that putting on the dress and deceiving Cheng Zeyì for the sake of the production crew’s little gifts was a massive mistake—an irreparable one!

On the other side, Cheng Zeyì sat in his car, watching the high-rise buildings move rapidly past the window. His manager, Ke Xi, was speaking to him.

“Some people have started making moves after seeing the promotional material for Journey of the Four Seasons. Do you want to consider taking on some variety show work during the filming period?”

Cheng Zeyì didn’t look at Ke Xi. He answered flatly.

“What do you think?”

“I think you won’t participate in variety shows, so I’ve rejected them all for you.”

Ke Xi answered quickly, his expression very cold and rigid.

“Since you already know, don’t ask me. Handle it according to usual practice.”

“Alright… Brother Cheng, what should we do about that Mu Yao?”

Ke Xi nodded, putting away the documents in his hand. He asked hesitantly.

“What do you mean, what should we do about Mu Yao?”

Hearing Ke Xi mention Mu Yao, Cheng Zeyì stopped looking out the window and turned back with a frown.

“He’s receiving a lot of attention now. Many shows are contacting his company, Yimeng. According to past practice, problematic artists who rise like this need to be suppressed…”

“He is not a problematic artist.”

Before Ke Xi could finish, Cheng Zeyì interrupted him.

“He was simply following the production crew’s arrangements. You said he’s at Yimeng?”

“Yes. After Mu Yao gained attention, Yimeng began promotional marketing, acting as if they want the whole internet to know he’s their artist. According to the information I’ve obtained, many production crews are contacting Yimeng to arrange work. Yimeng has already accepted, and Mu Yao will likely receive work notifications soon.”

“Additionally, Yimeng contacted me once, hoping for a certain degree of ‘bundled marketing’ cooperation.”

Ke Xi informed Cheng Zeyì of the recent news. After seeing Cheng Zeyì frown, he added quickly:

“Rest assured, I’ve already rejected the marketing cooperation.”

“No, the point isn’t the marketing cooperation. It’s Yimeng’s exploitation of their artists. How much work have they arranged for Mu Yao?”

Cheng Zeyì tapped his finger on his knee, his eyes narrowing slightly, showing displeasure.

“Uh, that… I haven’t looked into it in depth.”

Ke Xi paused. He faintly sensed that Cheng Zeyì was on the verge of getting angry.

“If you haven’t looked into it in depth, then go find out for me. It’s best to know Mu Yao’s entire schedule. Don’t treat him like those people who just ride on heat; he’s different.”

Cheng Zeyì took a deep breath, his gaze landing on Ke Xi. Ke Xi suddenly felt an immense pressure and nodded hurriedly to indicate he understood.

Is Brother Cheng angry because of Yimeng’s exploitation of Mu Yao? What exactly is so special about Mu Yao that Brother Cheng cares this much?

Ke Xi was puzzled, but he didn’t show it on the surface. After finishing with the entertainment industry matters, he began to speak of actual business.

“Our people have gathered all the skeletal remains and identified them one by one. We’ve already started looking for their families to collect the remains. When the families arrive, we will arrange for the little ghosts to say goodbye before being saved. That Nannan is a bit complicated; her karma is tied to Zhang Hao, so some processing is required.”

“Just ensure Nannan can enter reincarnation. As for Zhang Hao… the punishment cannot be lessened.”

Once on the topic of official business, Cheng Zeyì reined in his emotions and responded flatly.

“Yes. The Deputy Director has arranged it that way too. We were still one step behind this time; that person behind the scenes is too cunning!”

Ke Xi gripped his pen tightly, a flash of hatred crossing his cold face.

“Be patient, Yaksha. That person has done so many things; eventually, they’ll leave a trail. You must have patience.”

“I understand, Captain Rakshasa. I… I’ll try my best to be patient.”

Ke Xi gave a bitter smile. Compared to the Rakshasa, he—the Yaksha—still lacked patience.

Cheng Zeyì nodded. His gaze turned back to the window. Outside, high-rises still stood tall, but how many dark things were hidden beneath their shadows?